Erasable Barcode

ABSTRACT

The Erasable Barcode prevents the sale of products by invalidating the barcode. The invalidation can be based on shelf life, or improper temperature maintenance. The invalidation is also visible to humans so that the consumer knows if the exposure occurs after purchase. Activation brings liquid from the first reservoir in contact with the migration medium. The liquid progressively produces a change in color over time in the migration medium. When the liquid has crossed the migration medium, it will come in contact with the absorptive medium. The absorptive medium will then rapidly change color. The absorptive layer is the substrate for a machine readable barcode such that the color change renders the barcode unreadable

PRIORITY

This application claims the benefit of provisional application, Ser. No.61/687911, that was filed on May 3, 2012 by the inventors Rajagopal, etal., and the application, Ser. No. 13/870,968, that was filed on Apr.25, 2013 by the same inventors.

BACKGROUND

There are many current solutions to indicate the expiration of the shelflife of a product. Most require humans to locate and read the date, knowthe current date, and decide if the shelf life has past. In the sameway, there are few solutions that can measure the amount of time aproduct is above a set point (usually around 40F). These also requirehuman interpretation and decision making By creating a mechanism thatinvalidates the barcode, the automation provided by checkout scannersare brought into the process. This removes the source of human error.This protects the consumer from potentially harmful products. The selleris also protected from law suits resulting from being the source of aproduct that caused harm. Since some products are packaged in the store,integrating this into a label which can be printed using a thermalprinter allows protection of a larger range of products.

Shelf life (or in some cases, used by dates) are typically a printeddate based on when the product was packaged. A few, such as Timestrip(U.S. Pat. No. 7,232,253), simplify the process by having an “Expired”or similar indication. The temperature monitoring versions of theseexist (some also from Timestrip). But as mentioned before a human mustlocate and interpret these indications. Other systems, such as SystemAnd Method For Quality Management Utilizing Barcode Indicators (U.S.patent application Ser. No. 12/469309) by Nemet, require two differentbarcodes so that when a change in condition is detected, one barcodebecomes unreadable while the other barcode becomes readable. Othersystems, such as Temperature Sensitive Label For Detecting TemperatureChanges To A Temperature Sensitive Item (U.S. patent application Ser.No. 11/688620) by Leute, use a material for the barcode or message, or amaterial underneath the barcode, that changes in reaction to a change intemperature, rather than using the migration of an ink to change theappearance of a printed and stable barcode.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a side view and cross section of the erasable barcode.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Referring to FIG. 1, a liquid, such as ink, starts in the pre-activationchamber (3 a). Referring to FIG. 1, when activated it will flow into thereservoir (6 a). Referring to FIG. 1, this liquid cannot leave the labelbecause of the leak stops (2 a) that are located at the edges of thelabel. Referring to FIG. 1, over time the liquid will advance into thecontrolled migration medium (5 a). Referring to FIG. 1, after the lengthof time determined by the migration medium, the liquid will flow intothe area containing the highly absorptive material (4 a) and will fillin very rapidly. Referring to FIG. 1, all of the previously mentionedcomponents are located underneath a printable surface (1 a). This is thesurface on to which the barcode is printed. This printable surface (1 a)can be limited to a size such that only one barcode may fit on theprintable surface (1 a), or it may be larger than a single barcode.Sufficient portions of barcode to invalidate it must be over a regionthrough which the absorptive medium is visible. Other sections may bevisible as well. The label will optionally have an adhesive backing (7a).

The liquid is stored in the pre-activation chamber (3 a) until it isread for use. The invention is activated when the liquid is releasedfrom the pre-activation chamber (3 a) and flows into the reservoir (6a). This release can happened many ways. The preferred embodimentenvisions the pre-activation chamber (3 a) releasing the liquid inresponse to pressure, such as the use of pressure to break a barrierthat allows the liquid to flow out of the pre-activation chamber (3 a).In applications such as items sold by individual weight where a label islikely to be applied thermal printers are common. In this applicationpressure of the print head should be sufficient to automaticallyactivate the label.

The printable surface (1 a) will have at least one bar code printed onthe printable surface (1 a). Optionally, the printable surface (1 a) mayalso have words, symbols or phrases. The printable surface (1 a) issufficiently transparent that when the liquid enters the absorptivematerial (5 a) that is proximal to the printable surface (1 a), thecolor of the liquid will obscure or render unreadable the bar code.Optionally, the words, symbols, or phrases may be also renderedunreadable.

The liquid is a colored substance that will render the barcode on theprintable surface (1 a) unreadable when the liquid reaches theabsorptive material (5 a). The preferred embodiment envisions a liquidthat does not react, change, or modify during the operating of theinvention so that a food or medicine safe liquid can be placed in thereservoir (6 a) and remain food or medicine safe during the operation ofthe invention. The preferred embodiment envisions the liquid as ink, dyeor other colored fluid. The liquid can be any color that will render thebarcode on the printable surface (1 a) unreadable.

Some products are affected by temperature over time. In these situationsa combination of liquid and migration medium (5 a) would be tailored tothe behavior over temperature that is desired. In the case of a productthat will require refrigeration, but still will deteriorate after acertain time, a combination that would only allow migration when boththe temperature is over a set amount, such as 40F for example, and aspecific amount of time has passed, 1 hour for example. For frozenproducts the temperature point would be lower than 32F. Otherapplications could have a trigger for the migration medium where eitheran increase in temperature or a specific duration of time would allowmigration of the liquid. Other products are affected by temperaturechanges only. In these situations a combination of liquid and migrationmedium (5 a) would be tailored to the behavior to respond when thetemperature is over the desired threshold. Still other products areafter by the passage of a duration of time only. In these situations acombination of liquid and migration medium (5 a) would be tailored tothe behavior to migrate only once that duration of time has beenreached.

The invention requires that the printable surface (1 a) be located nearor proximal to the absorptive material (4 a). Once the absorptivematerial (4 a) absorbs the liquid from the reservoir (6 a), theabsorptive material (4 a) changes color to a color that will obscure thebarcode on the printable surface (1 a). In the preferred version, thecolor of the printable surface (1 a) and the color of the absorptivematerial (4 a) after the absorption of the liquid are identical orsubstantially identical.

Placing the reservoir (6 a) in close proximity to the absorptivematerial (4 a) allows for construction of dynamic wording to reinforcethe reason the product is no longer sell able. For example, if the word“SAFE” was written above the initial reservoir (6 a) in a manner that isreadable by a human person and the absorptive region was to the left,then its color change could revealed the word “UN”. The word “UN” wouldbe initially transparent, but would become opaque and thus readable by ahuman person when the liquid migrates into the absorptive material (4a). When the product is sellable and the device is active it will read“SAFE”. Once the barcode becomes invalidated it will read “UNSAFE”.Depending on the application this wording is flexible. Any wordaccepting “UN”, “IM”, or similar negative prefixes can be used. If thecolor change is selected to hide the printing (as with the barcode)positive prefixes can be hidden. This additionally protects the consumerby indicating an unusable condition created after purchase.

An example of a use of the thermally sensitive version of this is formeat products in the grocery store. The Erasable Barcode, prevents thesale of meat stored at improper temperatures, and lets the consumer alsoknow the result of the exposure after the food has left the grocerystore. When the Erasable Barcode is activated, the word “SAFE” appears.As the package is exposed to temperatures over 40F, the liquid migratescloser to the barcode. After two hours of exposure, the liquid willmigrate into the absorptive medium. The color change in this mediumprevents the barcode from being able to be scanned. When this happens,the prefix “UN” will appear next to the word “SAFE”, making it “UNSAFE”.This works at home too, because if the meat has been stored at impropertemperatures at home, the word “UNSAFE” will still appear, so theconsumer will read the word and know that the product is not safe forconsumption or use. For packages of meat produced at a central location,the protection begins at the point of production. This allows the storeto verify the meat was properly handled prior to arriving at the store.

Since most dairy products are produced centrally, applying theimplementation above to dairy products covers more of the supply chainthan just the store.

The Erasable Barcode also can help doctors and pharmacists in hospitalsand other clinics where many patients get treated. This includes givingthem medicine and injections to treat diseases. Many of these locationsuse barcodes to track medical supplies for both billing and inventorypurposes. However, these medicines can also go bad, this can cause thepatients to become sicker and even the disease to get stronger. Forexample, if liquid medicines go past their expiry date, the formulationis no longer as expected which can cause reactions that make the patientvery ill. If the expiration date is based on diminished efficacy, thedisease exposed to the weakened treatment could potentially becomeimmune it. (In much the same way some of our inoculations work) If oursolution is implemented into the medical system, then many of thepreviously mentioned risks can be avoided.

Another possible medical use in tracking blood from a blood bank. Theblood has both a limited overall useful span (typically 21 to 35 daysdepending on treatment process) and temperature storage requirements. Byhaving both a temperature sensitive and duration only device a violationof either constraint results in the container being rendered unscanableand therefore unusable.

The Erasable Barcode can also help beauty specialists tell when theirbeauty products go bad. If these products go bad and a customer uses theexpired products, the consumer could develop rashes or allergies tothese products. As a result, the consumer or their families may end upsuing the company for thousands of dollars. If the Erasable Barcode isimplemented onto this system, then the companies will know if theirproducts have gotten bad and the consumer can tell if a beauty producthas gone bad in their homes.

Chemicals such as paints and pesticides frequently have shelf livesbased on their formulations. Integrating the tracking of this expirationand the barcode used to make the purchase prevents products that may notbehave in the way they were intended from impacting the environment.

The liquid in the reservoir (6 a) can be any colored liquid. The liquidcan have any opacity or viscosity. The preferred embodiment envisionsthe use of ink as the liquid, but any colored liquid, such as paint ordye may be used. The preferred embodiment envisions a liquid with lowviscosity and high opacity.

The biggest difference with the Erasable Barcode and other products onthe market, is that not only will the Erasable Barcode notify theconsumer if the product had been improperly stored prior to purchase,but it will also prevent the sale of improperly stored or old products.It also continues to let consumers know if the product has beenimproperly stored after sale. Since this solution is part of the labelfor the barcode, there is no chance that this important informationaltool is left off the product.

Although this invention has been illustrated by reference to specificembodiments, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art thatvarious changes and modification may be made which clearly fall withinthe scope of the invention. The invention is intended to be protectedbroadly within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. An erasable barcode comprising: a reservoir; anamount of liquid in the reservoir; a rate controlled migration medium;an absorptive medium; a single machine readable barcode proximal to theabsorptive medium; the first reservoir passing the liquid to themigration medium wherein the liquid migrates across the migration mediumand comes into contact with the absorptive medium, and the absorptivemedium rapidly changes color in response to the contact rendering thebarcode unreadable, and wherein the absorptive layer is a substrate uponwhich the barcode is formed.
 2. The erasable barcode according to claim1 with the migration limited by both a temperature threshold andspecific duration of time.
 3. The erasable barcode according to claim 1with the migration limited by only a temperature threshold.
 4. Theerasable barcode according to claim 1 with the migration limited by onlyspecific duration of time.
 5. The erasable barcode according to claim 1where the color of the machine readable barcode is similar to the colorof the absorptive medium after the absorptive medium comes into contactwith the liquid.
 6. The erasable barcode according to claim 1 where asthe machine readable barcode becomes unreadable a message appears. 7.The erasable barcode according to claim 1 where the liquid issubstantially the same color as the machine readable barcode.
 8. Theerasable barcode according to claim 1 where the printable surfacecontains a first message placed proximal to the machine readable barcodeso that when the liquid enters the absorptive medium and a transparentsecond message that is not readable by a human person so that when theliquid migrates across the migration medium and comes into contact withthe absorptive medium, and the absorptive medium rapidly changes colorin response to the contact rendering the barcode unreadable, the secondmessage is rendered opaque by the liquid and the second message isrevealed in such a manner that is readable by a human person thatnegates the meaning of the first message.
 9. The erasable barcodeaccording to claim 1 where the single barcode is not proximal to anyother barcode.